Four Pak paramilitary personnel killed in IED blast near Quetta

At least four Pakistan Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed and 10 other personnel were injured in a blast on an FC convoy in the Sangan area of Quetta's Sibi district on Tuesday, officials said, Dawn reported.

Sibi Assistant Commissioner Sana Mahjabeen said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

She said among the 10 injured personnel, the condition of six was critical, and they were being treated at Sibi's Combined Military Hospital.

Meanwhile, Adviser to the Balochistan Chief Minister on Home Mir Zia Langove condemned the incident and said in a statement that the injured FC personnel should be provided the best medical treatment.

He also expressed grief over deaths caused by the blast.

"Terrorists are making failed attempts at sabotaging peace in Balochistan through such cowardly acts," he said.

Separately, Balochistan government spokesperson Farah Azeem Shah also condemned the incident and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives.

She said the role of security forces in ensuring peace in Balochistan had been "exemplary", adding that "anti-Pakistan forces were trying to sabotage peace in Balochistan."

The blast on the FC convoy comes a week after a suicide bomber struck along the route of President Arif Alvi's motorcade in Sibi, claiming the lives of six security personnel and leaving 22 others, including 19 law enforcers, injured.

The suicide bomber had blown himself up near a government rest house on Jail Road after the motorcade of President Alvi and other VIPs passed through the area on their return from the concluding ceremony of the annual Sibi festival held at Sibi Stadium, Dawn reported.